


A New Life

by Kujo1597



Series: Maybe That Wasn't Such a Bad Thing [2]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Gen, They get a dog, This is backstory for my Amedot human AU, platonic lapidot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-08
Updated: 2017-02-01
Packaged: 2018-09-07 05:34:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8785141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kujo1597/pseuds/Kujo1597
Summary: A house fire left Peridot with hardly anything and she has no family in the US. She contacted people she went to university with and sort of liked. Somebody did answer her call for help but not who she expected.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I made a human AU for the third Amedot Bomb and it's always been kind of fleshed out in my mind. I'm quite attached to it so I decided to write stories about it.

> _Lapis, a former classmate of mine needs a place to stay. She lost everything in a fire. She’s pretty nice, kind of grating and smug but nice once you get to know her._

Lapis groggily read and re-read this e-mail.

She mentioned that she needed a new roommate but did she really want to take in a charity case?

 

* * *

 

After processing the e-mail from earlier she decided to call the poor girl.

_“Hello?”_

It took a bit for her to pick up the phone.

“Hey, this is Lapis, a friend of mine went to school with you and said you need a place to stay.”

_“Oh,” she sounded a bit surprised. “Um, okay, we should probably talk a bit before making any decisions. Well first, hi, I’m Peridot. I’m a freelance programmer so I’ll be working from home.”_

Peridot sounded a bit nervous. Was it phone jitters?

“Oh, that’s cool. I’m an artist and live off of sales and commissions so I work from home too.”

Lapis could hear a small sigh on the other end of the line.

_“So we definitely need to get along well then. Um, I guess it’s a good thing we’re getting to know each other first.”_

“How long will you be staying?” Might as well get one of the big questions out of the way.

_“I really don’t know. Hopefully it won’t take too long for me to get back on my feet.”_

That wasn’t much of an answer.

“Take your time. As long as you’re not too annoying I won’t kick you out.”

_Peridot made a nervous noise._

“Calm down, it was just a joke.”

Peridot relaxed and her and Lapis talked some more.

Lapis found out that Peridot’s from Canada, her favourite colour is blue but she prefers how green looks on her, she loves animals, has a nut allergy, and that they did have a class together. They never talked though.

After learning more about each other they decided to meet in a nearby park then drive to Lapis’ home.

 

* * *

 

Lapis decided to wear her dark blue sleeveless turtleneck with a large black diamond on the front and light blue skinny jeans. And no shoes of course.

After checking the time on her phone Lapis glanced up and saw a short woman holding a duffel bag and suitcase. A ratty red sweater three sizes too large hung loosely on her broad shoulders, a patch of reddish scar-tissue poked out from under the sweater on her left shoulder. It stood out enough to be noticeable but was a somewhat close match to the woman’s natural skin tone. 

Her pants seemed to fit her wide hips but were way too long so they’re frayed at the bottom and they’re also torn at the knees. Through the tear on the left knee Lapis could see a green prosthetic leg.

Lapis’ inspection ended with the woman’s very short blonde hair. It was growing out awkwardly and her bangs barely reached the large triangular burn on her forehead, the colour was a much closer match than on her shoulder. This scar extended down her temple and cheek running under the thick green arm of her glasses. 

There’s no way this wasn’t Peridot.

Lapis waved at the woman whose frown turned into a small smile. Although Lapis later learned that this ‘frown’ is Peridot’s neutral expression.

Peridot walked up to Lapis. “You must be Lapis, I’m Peridot.”

She moved her suitcase to her left hand and offered her right. Before shaking it Lapis noticed that Peridot’s palm and fingers were also covered in burns.

“So, is that all your stuff?” Lapis asked hoping the answer was 'no.’ A person’s life being able to fit into a suitcase and duffel bag is kind of sad.

Thankfully Peridot shook her head. “No, this is just all I can carry. The rest is back at the hotel. I was hoping that we could pick it up before going to your place, but it’s not a rush. I can afford the room for another couple days.”

Lapis shrugged. “Might as well pick it up now.”

They got into the car and drove to the hotel.

 

* * *

 

After picking up the rest of Peridot’s belongings they went back into the car and drove to Lapis’ duplex.

Or, Lapis and Peridot’s duplex…

Lapis tossed her keys onto the counter and showed Peridot to her room. “This is your room, make yourself at home and then I’ll show you around.”

Peridot unceremoniously dumped her non-electronics onto the bed. “I’ll get everything set up later.”

This took Lapis a bit by surprise but she took Peridot on the tour anyway.

After Peridot learned the layout of the house they went out to eat lunch.

 

* * *

 

The day passed and Lapis and Peridot got to know each other better. Peridot retreated into her room to get settled.

An hour later it was time to eat supper.

As they sat at the table eating Lapis gave into the urge she’s had all day.

“So how did your house burn down anyway?”

Lapis asked the other big question.

Peridot nearly dropped her fork.

“I uh,” Peridot pushed up her glasses. “I should have expected that question. Um, the building wasn’t up to code and there was an electrical fire. I was asleep when it started so I didn’t hear the alarm at first and also lost time attaching my prosthesis. By the time I started my escape it was too difficult for me to get out.” Peridot gestured at her face. “As you can clearly see. Obviously I was eventually rescued. But… yeah, it was pretty bad.”

Lapis didn’t know what she expected when she asked that question and she really didn’t know how to respond to the answer.

She quietly picked at her food hoping to think of something.

She never did.

 

* * *

 

After a very awkward evening of non-conversation Peridot went to bed. Lapis felt kind of bad for not being able to think of a way to restore the casual air they once had.

As Lapis walked by Peridot’s bedroom to get to her art room she heard grunting. Lapis paused and listened and heard some disgruntled noises.

Odd.

Lapis knocked on the door. “Hey, everything okay in there? If you need help just tell me.”

She waited for a response. Lapis learned earlier in the day that it sometimes takes a bit.

Some shuffling came from Peridot’s room; Lapis correctly guessed that the shuffling was Peridot putting on her prosthesis.

The door opened a crack and Peridot peered through it.

Even through the small opening Lapis could see that Peridot was nervous. “Lapis, a part of burn aftercare is applying lotion. I… have some difficulty reaching all of my skin grafts.” Peridot took in a breath. “Would you be willing to help me with this?” Peridot’s nerves returned so she quickly added, “but if you don’t want to I’ll understand. I can manage on my own too; it just takes a while.”

Again, Lapis wasn’t sure what she expected when she asked a question.

But this time she knew how to respond, she was going to make up for earlier.

Besides, just one evening of awkwardness was bad enough…

“Sure, I’ll help,” Lapis said nonchalantly.

Relief showed on Peridot’s features but was quickly replaced by slight uneasiness. “Just a heads up I guess. About a third of my body is covered in burns so… yeah, I just wanted you to have some idea of what to expect.”

After her warning Peridot opened the door so Lapis could get in. Thanks to Peridot’s night attire of a dark green tanktop and boxers with green alien heads all over them Lapis learned that the burn on Peridot’s shoulder extended to her chest, upper arm, and then onto her back. She also saw the burns on the outside of Peridot’s right forearm going down to the back of her hand.

Peridot was seemingly unfazed by Lapis’ gaze and sat on her bed then called Lapis over.

“It might be easier if we’re both sitting.”

Lapis sat behind Peridot on the bed and accepted the bottle of lotion handed to her. Peridot took in a breath then removed her top exposing her heavily scarred back.

The sight of it caught Lapis a bit off-guard, patches on it were a lot redder than the rest of the burns,

But Lapis had a job to do so she quickly recovered.

As she spread the lotion Lapis blurted out, “sorry about asking about the fire earlier.”

“It’s fine, you were curious about what happened to me.” Peridot looked over her shoulder at Lapis and smirked. “Besides, how else would you know I’m not a pyro or a dangerous criminal or something?”

Lapis would eventually learn that Peridot often hides behind jokes.

But she hasn’t yet.

Lapis awkwardly laughed. “True.”

When Lapis reached a particularly red spot Peridot let out a pained noise.

“Oh, sorry.”

Peridot shook her head. “It’s okay, the graft on that spot is still fairly new so it’s just a bit tender. You’re doing fine.”

This piqued Lapis’ curiosity, she thought it was all done at once. “So where do skin grafts come from anyway?”

“The human body rejects foreign skin after one to three weeks but in cases like mine where there’s a lot of area to cover it is used. The skin used for permanent grafts is taken from unburned areas on the patient. Most often from the rump.”

Wait.

Lapis snickered. She knew she shouldn’t but she couldn’t help herself. “So what you’re saying is you have butt skin all over your body, including your face.”

With a sigh Peridot replied, “yes, I’m covered in skin from my rump.”

“So I guess you’re a bit of a butt-head.”

Peridot snorted. “Shut up.”

After the long day the two dissolved into giggles.

“Gosh darn it,” Peridot was the first to recover. “What a juvenile thing to find funny.”

“But hey, you can laugh about your burns. That’s good.” Lapis closed the lotion bottle. “I’m done by the way.”

Peridot put her shirt back on. “Yeah, I guess it is good I can laugh. Laughter’s the best medicine as they say. Oh, and thanks for helping me.”

“Yeah, don’t mention it. And if you need help with that again just ask me.”

“Actually, this is a daily thing, twice-daily in fact,” Peridot said after some hesitation. “Naturally I don’t-”

Lapis cut in before Peridot could finish her thought, she knew where it was going. “So I’m guessing you do this when you wake up and when you go to bed. I don’t have a problem helping. But you may have to wait if I’m painting.”

“Of course! Thank you. To be honest I thought I might’ve overstepped my bounds.”

Lapis waved it off. “Nah, when I got my back tattoo I had a brand new roommate and she helped me put lotion on. It’s no big deal. Good night.”

“Yes, good night Lapis.”

 

* * *

 

The next morning Lapis heard a knock on her art room door. She opened the door and was face-to-face with Peridot who was still wearing her night clothes

“Hey, what do you want for breakfast?” Peridot asked.

“Breakfast? What time is it?”

“It’s eight o'clock in the morning.”

Oh. Lapis did it again, she went a whole night painting instead of sleeping.

“I’ll have whatever you’re making,” Lapis replied to Peridot’s earlier question.

With a shrug Peridot walked off and into the kitchen, Lapis followed her.

As Peridot gathered ingredients to make pancakes she noticed something.

“You don’t really have much food, we should go grocery shopping later.”

The food situation didn’t seem that bad to Lapis, there was lots to eat.

Just not much of it was actually healthy.

So she playfully rolled her eyes. “You didn’t say anything about being a health nut. I changed my mind, you can’t stay.”

Peridot picked up on the joking tone. “Too bad, I’m already moved in.”

As Peridot continued to cook, her and Lapis had a casual conversation much like the ones before Lapis asked the big question.

It was then that they decided that living together may actually be kind of nice.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot and Lapis had lived together for a while. Their friendship has grown and now it's time for a new addition to their household.

A few months have passed, Peridot’s hair has grown out a couple more inches. She stood in the kitchen holding an envelope with a cheque in it. The return address is of an attorney, it was from the lawsuit against her former landlord.

Peridot took in a breath and read the dollar amount.

“Well Lapis,” Peridot sounded a bit weepy. “With this cheque I can afford to move out. So I guess I should start looking for a place.”

Over the months Lapis had learned how to read Peridot. “Are you moving out because you want to or because you think you have to?”

Peridot didn’t respond.

“Peridot, what do you _want_ to do?”

After some thinking Peridot replied, “I want to keep living with you, I enjoy your company.”

Lapis shrugged. "Well then, I guess you don’t need to find a new home. I like having a roommate and you’re one of the better ones.”

Sensing that Peridot needed a hug Lapis extended her arm. “Come here you sap.”

Peridot accepted the hug.

“Thank you Lapis.”

 

* * *

 

A couple days later as Peridot and Lapis watched TV Peridot had to bring up something important.

“Lapis, how would you feel about us having a dog?”

Getting a pet is a very serious decision so Lapis paused their show. “What’s this all of a sudden?”

Peridot fiddled with her fingers. “My psychiatrist feels that an emotional companion animal would greatly help me.”

“I’d be kind of a terrible person if I said you couldn’t get your therapy dog.”

“Well actually, it’s not a therapy dog; a therapy dog helps its owner aid other people. An emotional companion animal helps its owner with their own emotional problems.”

Lapis just blankly looked at Peridot as she explained the difference between the two. “So what kinda dog are you getting?”

“A havanese,” Peridot replied with a smile. She then pulled out her phone and showed Lapis pictures of the breed. “They’re really cute and cuddly and bred for companionship.”

“Yeah, they are pretty cute,” Lapis agreed.

They spent the rest of the evening talking about their future dog.

 

* * *

 

The day came for them to pick up Peridot’s dog. The whole way home Peridot giggled and cooed about how cute the little brown havanese is.

She named him “Max” after a character from an obscure game she’s played.

After they arrived at home Peridot excitedly showed Max all his things, where his water is, the kitchen where he’ll be fed and where the back door is.

When the tour and first playtime ended Peridot sat on the couch and the tiny brown furball took his place on her lap. With a smile Peridot started to pet her new companion.

“You seem to be liking your dog,” Lapis said as she sat next to Peridot.

“He’s so cute,” Peridot gushed for what felt like the millionth time. “And so soft too. Lapis, pet him! You haven’t given him any attention yet.”

“Alright, I’ll give him a little pat,” Lapis gave in to Peridot’s puppydog eyes and stroked Max’s head. “Yep. He’s soft.”

The feel of a dog didn’t really do much for Lapis, she’s always preferred cats.

Peridot didn’t really notice this however, she started to giggle and gave Max a kiss on the top of his head. “I’m so happy we got him. Thank you.”

“Why are you thanking me? Your therapist wrote the prescription; I just drove you there.”

Peridot frowned. “Well, yeah, but you didn’t have to do that.”

“Whatever, you help me with my issues I figured It’s the least I can do,” Lapis said with a blush.

“I guess, but I do still appreciate it,” Peridot then changed the subject. “Okay, so I think we should lay down some rules with Max.”

“Didn’t we do that before?”

“No,” Peridot replied. “We just talked about his feeding schedule and where to put his things.” After not getting any response from Lapis, Peridot continued, “We really shouldn’t give him table scraps, or if we do it’s just healthy stuff and in small quantities. We don’t want the little guy to get too fat or develop diabetes. We also need to walk him every day. I can do it most of the time so you won’t have to worry about it too much; but there might be days where I’m just not feeling up to it. And if you want, you can join us or take him on your own. Who knows, maybe you’ll enjoy going out for walks with Max.”

“That’ll be the day,” Lapis thought but she said instead, “yeah, sure. I’ll give it a shot.”

“Great,” Peridot was thrilled. “Okay, there are a few more things we need to cover~”

Peridot spent the next while explaining how to properly take care of Max.

 

* * *

 

Life with a dog was a bit hard for Lapis to adjust to. She never had a pet before and in her opinion dogs are pretty needy and loud.

But Max was a fairly calm dog. He hardly barked and when he did it wasn’t a yappy bark, he also mostly stuck next to Peridot.

The main annoyance was having to let Max out while in the middle of painting.

Max was pretty cute though… for a moppy dog.

And this was the happiest she’s ever seen Peridot.

Yeah, a pet dog is kind of a good thing.

 

* * *

 

One day Lapis walked by the washroom and saw Peridot infront of the mirror holding up some of her hair.

Lapis cracked a smile. “What are you doing?”

Disappointingly, Peridot didn’t jump up in surprise. “Oh, I’m just seeing if my hair’s finally long enough to have up and look decent.”

“So what’s the verdict?”

Peridot took a closer look in the mirror. “Hmmmm… barely.”

“Well, you keep primping, I’m taking Max for his walk,” Lapis gestured towards the dog sitting next to his leash. “He’s waiting so patiently.”

 Peridot waved. “Okay, have fun.”

“Will do.”

 

* * *

 

After her walk with Max Lapis walked into the living room and saw Peridot sitting on the couch watching TV with her hair sticking up oddly and messily.

Peridot turned around and grinned at Max who looked unsure. Her smile fell. “What’s wrong?”

Lapis picked Max up and held him infront of her face then spoke in a silly voice, “My mama looks like a weirdo, I don’t know what to think.”

Peridot snorted and shook her head. “You’re using my dog whose job it is to make me feel better to make fun of me.”

“Oh please, you can handle a little teasing,” Lapis put Max on the floor then sat next to Peridot. “But seriously though, I’m saying this as a friend. Your hair’s a disaster, let me fix it.”

“It’s not that bad.”

“No, it is,” Lapis poked the burn that extends past Peridot’s hairline with her finger. “It’d be kind of okay if it wasn’t for this bald spot. Still bad though, just not a disaster.”

“Well that’s never going away; I have no idea how to work around it either.”

“You could always shave the sides off, just go with a mohawk. You might be able to pull it off. Well, sort of, you’re a huge nerd but you do have those body mods.”

Peridot made a face, “I’m kind of enjoying having a full head of hair again.”

“I think your next best option is to keep the sides flat, the way your hair’s sticking out unevenly is the main issue.”

“Probably,” Peridot agreed.

Lapis snickered. “So what were you thinking?”

Peridot sighed a bit too heavily then replied, “That I’d like to look like my old self again, even just a little. But you’re right, I can’t. I should move on and figure out something new.”

The change in tone took Lapis a bit by surprise, she thought Peridot’s choice in style was just her being her usual eccentric self. Lapis quickly hid her surprise, she felt that she’s never been any good at helping other people with their problems so it’s not worth trying. “I’m sure you eventually will figure something out, especially with me helping.”

“And how exactly will you be doing that?” Peridot asked with a raised eyebrow.

“By making fun of all your terrible attempts of course,” Lapis replied then stuck out her tongue.

“Gee, thanks.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lapis and Peridot have fallen into a comfortable routine together. They have a cute cuddly dog in the house, have a lot of shows they enjoy together, and they even occasionally play video games. 
> 
> Life is pretty good for them.

“Okay, I really like how it turned out this time.”

Peridot stepped out of the washroom to show Lapis her latest hairstyle. A few more months had passed, Peridot’s hair now stood at an impressive height and when it wasn’t styled it almost reached her shoulders. but she decided to sweep the bottom of her hair forward and tucked behind her ears which she stretched out even more the previous month.

Lapis assessed Peridot new look lazily from the couch. Max was lying down next to her and wagged his tail.

“You know, this is probably your least goofy attempt yet,” Lapis gave Peridot a thumbs-up. “I still say the top’s too long though.

Peridot pushed Lapis’ legs to the side then sat down. “And I still disagree, tall hair balances out my long face.”

“So now that you look presentable you should run errands.”

“But I did them last week,” Peridot whined. “We agreed to take turns.”

“Well I can’t do it, I have a dog curled up with me,” Lapis pointed at Max.

“He weighs like, two pounds, you can easily move him.”

Lapis put her hand on her chest in mock offense. “What kind of mother wakes her sleeping baby?”

“He’s not even sleeping,” sure enough, Max was wide awake. Peridot patted her thigh and he came over to her. “There, your problem’s been solved.”

With a groan Lapis got off of the couch, she grabbed the shopping list off of the wall then left the house.

After she heard the door close Peridot picked Max up and gave him a kiss. She put him on the floor then walked to her office with him bouncing behind her.

“I know it’s silly that I put so much effort into my hair and then don’t leave the house. I just like looking cool, you know?”

Max sneezed and Peridot giggled.

“You’re the cutest little thing,” she cooed.

Peridot reached her office then sat on her chair. Like usual, Max begged to be lifted onto her lap, Peridot did so then turned on her music then got to work.

 

* * *

 

Lapis returned from running errands, she put everything away then walked into Peridot’s office. When she got in there she saw Peridot slumped in her chair sound asleep with Max snoring on her lap. Lapis couldn’t help smiling at the sight so she decided to let them sleep for a bit.

A half hour had passed and Peridot was still in her office. Lapis walked up to it and heard Peridot’s music meaning that she woke up.

Lapis entered the room and sure enough, Peridot was typing away.

Peridot heard Lapis come in and turned around. “Oh hey Lapis, welcome home.”

“Yeah, hey,” Lapis lazily waved. “You’re making dinner tonight, I picked up the food so you’re cooking.”

“Sure, I do most of the cooking anyway,” Peridot said with a shrug. She then put Max on the floor and stood up.

Her and Lapis walked into the kitchen and Peridot took stock of the food. She figured out what she could make and then got to work.

“Did you just sleep all day?” Lapis asked.

"No, I got most of my work done,” Peridot replied as she handed Max a carrot. “I dozed off during a TubeTube break.”

“Have you been getting enough sleep?”

“I should ask you that; I heard you moving around when I used the washroom at three.”

“Mid-sleep inspiration, I’m fine. You avoided my question by the way.”

Peridot clicked her tongue. “I woke up three times but fell asleep relatively quickly.” Peridot made a slightly disgruntled noise. “And before you ask, only two of those times were due to stress, the third was having to pee.” Peridot turned around. “Max is a big help, maybe you could have him on your bed some nights.”

“My problem is that I get too wrapped up in work to sleep. Besides, I’m a bed-hog, he’d probably end up on the floor.”

“Hm, okay. But if you change your mind let me know.”

Lapis thought, “you’re way too nice for your own good. He was prescribed to you.” But she could never say that so she made a noncommittal noise.

“So anyway,” Peridot decided to start a new conversation. “How was your day?”

“Same as any other,” Lapis replied. “They did have a sale on soda so I picked some up. Who needs bones, right?”

This got a little laugh out of Peridot. “We’ll be the coolest looking brittle old ladies ever.”

Lapis laughed. “I will, not so sure about you.”

Peridot stuck out her tongue in response.

The two continued to talk about nothing while Peridot cooked the delicious smelling meal.

 

* * *

 

With their tummies full Lapis ad Peridot lounged on the living room couch and watched TV.

“Hey, wanna do something tomorrow? Lapis asked, “you haven’t left the house in a while.”

Peridot’s face showed exactly how she felt. “It’s only been a little over a week.”

“I know, but it might be good for you to walk around and see the sun.”

With a sigh Peridot gave in. “Alright, I’ll come out with you. What do you have in mind?”

Lapis shrugged. “Just walk around the boardwalk and do some shopping. It’s not like there’s much to do around here.”

“That sounds okay.”

“Great! Maybe we can finally find some clothes that fit you.”

“Good luck with that,” Peridot rolled her eyes, “ I gave up on that years ago.”

Lapis wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, you’re a disproportionate mess. How can somebody be both short and lanky?”

“I don’t know,” Peridot sounded exasperated. “My mother’s really tall so I think I get my lankiness from her but the women on my dad’s side of the family are all short. I guess I just got the best of both worlds.”

Lapis gave Peridot her ‘that was rhetorical, you nerd’ look.

Peridot groaned. “One of these days I’ll learn how to tell if a question is.”

Lapis didn’t exactly hold her breath.

 

* * *

 

“This looks good on you,” Lapis said as she held a pretty shirt from a boutique on the boardwalk up to Peridot.

Who made a face. “Lapis, you should know by now that I don’t like this type of clothing.”

“I know, but it might be nice if you need to dress up a bit.”

“I have button-down shirts for that.”

Lapis put the shirt back on the rack. “Alright, I guess this store’s not for you.”

The two looked around for a bit longer not finding anything for Peridot. Lapis found a few things though.

The next stop on the boardwalk was more Peridot’s style, geeky t-shirts, hoodies, cargo pants, and even the occasional sweater.

But that didn’t really make a ton of difference to Peridot, she’s never been one for clothes shopping. It was more interesting than the boutique at least.

A few t-shirts caught Peridot’s eye so she kept them in mind. Money was still a bit tight, she couldn’t exactly buy every cool shirt she saw.

Growing more and more bored Peridot looked around. Eventually she spotted something beautiful and dark green hanging on the wall. She picked up the hoodie and took a good look at it.

The fabric was soft, the hoodie wasn’t form-fitting in the slightest and the sleeves were intentionally long enough to cover the wearer’s hands, they even have holes for their thumbs.

It was perfect.

“Find something you like?” Lapis asked, amused by Peridot’s bright smile.

“Yeah, check out this hoodie,” Peridot slipped off her sweater and passed it off to Lapis then pulled the hoodie over her head. “How do I look?”

“Like a teenage boy.”

Peridot giggled then looked at the pricetag. She frowned. “This is pricey.” Peridot started doing the math in her head. “I should have enough saved up to be able to afford it. It’ll be this month’s treat.”

Lapis groaned. “Not your fun budget. How is a hoodie fun?”

Peridot raised an eyebrow. “You’re the one who dubbed it my 'fun budget.’ It’s more for small unnecessary things that I will enjoy. I have clothes, I don’t need this hoodie, therefore it’s a treat.”

“Alright, I see your point,” Lapis looked at the rack. “Do they have it in a smaller size?”

“I think this size is perfect,” Peridot responded while changing back.  "I like huge hoodies; they’re really comfy when you’re spending the whole day coding.“

That reasoning would be fine if it was given by anybody but Peridot. Lapis knew full well that Peridot would go out in public wearing that hoodie.

But Peridot _did_ really like it so Lapis didn’t argue.

Lapis grabbed the hoodie from Peridot. "I’m buying this.”

“You don’t-”

“No arguments. I saved up for the day I could get you to go clothes shopping with me. Go get that nerdy shirt you wanted.”

“Thank you Lapis but you really didn’t have to.”

They continued to talked as the walked through the store.

“The plan was to buy you clothes that’ll actually fit,” Lapis said with a sigh. “But apparently that’s not only impossible it’s also your choice.”

Peridot laughed. “It really bothers you, doesn’t it?”

“You’re actually kind of good looking but you dress so frumpy. It’s kind of a waste, don’t you think?”

“I suppose, but that’s not me, you know?”

“Yeah I know. I’m mostly over it now.”

“Well if it makes you feel better, I do like a well tailored suit.”

“That helps, at least you have _some_ taste.”

“I tell ya Lapis, I look really nice in a suit. I’m looking forward to being able to afford a new one.”

“When would you wear it?" 

Peridot blushed. "Well… sometimes I like to dress up for fun. Put on something nice and cook my favourite meal, or eat somewhere fancy if my budget allows it.”

“That actually sounds kind of nice,” Lapis had expected something really silly or depressing as it’s the usual for Peridot.

“You really think so?” Peridot asked genuinely surprised at the positive response. “I thought you’d just write it off as me being weird.”

“You are weird. But sometimes weird things can be nice,” Lapis smirked. “You’re living proof of that.”

“I’m not weird, I’m endearingly eccentric,” Peridot puffed out her chest.

“Just take the compliment, nerd.”

“But it’s incorrect.”

Lapis rolled her eyes. “Fine, you’re an endearing weirdo.”

“I can accept that.”

The two arrived at the till and the person working it rung up Peridot’s clothes and Lapis paid for them.

They walked out of the store while talking about that evening’s meal.

“I’ve been craving curry lately,” Lapis said as her and Peridot walked home. “Can you make that tonight?”

“Yeah, sure,” Peridot replied with a shrug. “We’ll need to pick up some things first.”

They took a slight turn and headed towards the grocery store.

 

* * *

 

That evening Peridot made supper and they finished the day by watching TV together with Max.

Just like every evening from then to the foreseeable future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

One night a little over a year later Lapis said something that would kick off a new chapter in their lives.

“Hey, come to the club with me. I need a D.D. and you need to socialize.”

“Fine.”


End file.
